Goodbye
by Kaylalicious
Summary: Catherine reflects on losing Warrick and her feelings about him. SongFic from Martina McBride's "Goodbye".


_**Disclaimer: **__I own nothing. All characters belong to their respective owners._

_**Summary: **__Catherine reflects on losing Warrick, and how she felt and still feels about him_

_**Author's Note: **__Based on "Goodbye" by Martina McBride._

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**Goodbye**

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It had been a long, stressful week. After finishing the second of two double shifts, Nick and Greg had decided to head to a diner for breakfast and try to drown their memories of the past week in overpriced pancakes and pulpy orange juice. They had invited Catherine along, but she declined, claiming she was exhausted. And that had been the truth; she intended to go home, take a shower, and then sleep for hours.

Despite her intentions, Catherine found herself kneeling in front of a granite stone in Woodlawn Cemetery at eight o'clock in the morning for the fourth time that month.

……….

_Occurred to me the other day_

_You've been gone now a couple years_

_Well I guess it takes a while_

_For someone to really disappear_

……….

From time to time, she'd forget he wasn't alive anymore. She'd be walking down the hallway at the lab with Nick and she'd turn around, expecting to see his muscular six-foot frame following her.

Sometimes, her telephone would ring and she would answer, almost forgetting that his deep, smooth voice would never again be on the other end of the line.

Now and then, she would answer a knock at her door, only to be surprised when she wasn't greeted by his charming grin and dazzling olive eyes.

It was almost too easy to forget he was really gone.

……….

_And I remember where I was when the word came about you_

_It was a day much like today_

_The sky was bright and wide and blue_

……….

Phone calls like that don't come very often, but when they do, time seems to stop for a moment.

It had been a good day; the whole team had been enjoying breakfast together less than an hour before the call came. When Catherine answered her phone that morning, she knew something was wrong before Brass told her what had happened.

"_We need you Cath…something bad happened."_

Once the words left his mouth, she knew she had to face whatever had happened. She knew she had lost a friend.

But until she got to that alley, she hadn't known she'd lost Warrick.

……….

_And I wonder where you are_

_And if the pain ends when you die_

_And I wonder if there was_

_Some better way to say goodbye_

……….

Warrick hadn't had an easy life. He'd had to grow up too quickly in a town that wasn't kind to people who weren't rich, powerful, or beautiful.

But he was beautiful to Catherine. Beautiful, and strong, and secure. Everything she needed, everything she wanted.

Everything she should have fought for, but didn't.

Too bad she hadn't realized he was worth fighting for until it was too late.

……….

_Today my heart is big and sore_

_It's trying to push right through my skin_

_Won't see you anymore_

_I guess that's finally sinking in_

……….

After Warrick was buried, the team stayed in the cemetery long after the rest of the crowd had dispersed. They spent their time reminiscing, and everyone but Catherine said their goodbyes.

She hadn't been able to say goodbye that day, or when she visited his grave every day for the next week, or on any of the occasions when she had found herself in the graveyard in the months since his death.

She still hadn't said goodbye, and now she knew she never really would.

Catherine, who had never considered herself to be religious, held on to the hope that there was some sort of life after death so she could see Warrick once again.

……….

'_Cause you can't make somebody see_

_With the simple words you say_

_All their beauty from within_

_Sometimes they just look away_

……….

If she could turn back time, Catherine would tell Warrick that he wasn't alone…that she would always be there for him.

She would tell him that she loved him.

But since time only marches forward, Catherine simply traced her finger over the engraved words 'Warrick Brown' as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

……….

_And I wonder where you are_

_And if the pain ends when you die_

_And I wonder if there was_

_Some better way to say goodbye_

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_Reviews are greatly appreciated._


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